At FTC’s Request, Federal Court Finds Defendants in Contempt for Continuing to Pitch Bogus Credit Repair Services in Violation of Prior Court Order

Responding to charges by the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court has found a credit repair operation in contempt for violating a previous court order that required the defendants to stop promoting bogus credit repair products and services to consumers.  The court ordered the defendants to pay $6.4 million to the FTC within 30 […]

FTC Issues Amended Rule on Identity Theft Red Flags

The Federal Trade Commission today announced publication of an Interim Final Rule on identity theft “red flags” that narrows the circumstances under which creditors are covered by the Rule. Congress directed the FTC, along with several banking agencies to develop regulations requiring “financial institutions” and “creditors” to develop and implement a written identity theft prevention […]

FTC Staff Opinion: The Methodist Hospital System May Sell Discounted Shortage Drugs to Baytown EMS as an Emergency Humanitarian Gesture; FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges that Universal Health Services, Inc.s Acquisition of Ascend Health

FTC Staff Opinion: The Methodist Hospital System May Sell Discounted Shortage Drugsto Baytown EMS as an Emergency Humanitarian Gesture In a letter issued today, the staff of the Federal Trade Commission advised The Methodist Hospital System that its proposal to resell pharmaceuticals it purchased at a discount to Baytown EMS is a permissible emergency humanitarian […]

FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges Against Marketer Brain-Pad, Inc. for Allegedly Deceptive Claims that Its Mouthguards Can Reduce Risk of Concussions

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission finalized an order settling charges that mouthguard marketer Brain-Pad, Inc. and its President Joseph Manzo made deceptive claims that their mouthguards reduce the risk of concussions from lower-jaw impacts, reduce the risk of concussions generally, and have been clinically proven to work.  Brain-Pad mouthguards retail for […]

FTC Warns Hotel Operators that Price Quotes that Exclude ‘Resort Fees’ and Other Mandatory Surcharges May Be Deceptive

The Federal Trade Commission has warned 22 hotel operators that their online reservation sites may violate the law by providing a deceptively low estimate of what consumers can expect to pay for their hotel rooms. The warning letters cited consumer complaints that surfaced at a recent conference the FTC held on “drip pricing,” a pricing […]

FTC Seeks Public Comments as Part of Its Review of Guides Advising Businesses How to Avoid Illegal Discrimination in the Provision of Promotional Allowances and Services

As part of the Federal Trade Commission’s systematic review of its rules and guides, the agency is seeking public comments on the guidance it gives manufacturers and wholesalers as to how they can provide advertising allowances and other promotional payments and services to retailers without running afoul of the Robinson-Patman Act. The Robinson-Patman Act prohibits […]

FTC Action Leads to Court Order: Fake ‘Yellow Pages’ Scammers Must Pay $10.2 Million

UPDATEThe FTC has learned that certain organizations, including Factoring International AG, Direct Factoring EOOD, Marketing Administration Ltd., and Marketing Services & Business Administration Ltd., are contacting consumers to collect on Yellow Page Marketing invoices. [example 1 | example 2 | example 3 | example 4] The court order in this case prohibits the collection of […]

FTC Files Amicus Brief Explaining That Pharmaceutical “Product Hopping” Can Be the Basis for an Antitrust Lawsuit

The Federal Trade Commission filed an amicus brief before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania explaining that minor, non-therapeutic changes to a branded pharmaceutical product that harm generic competition can constitute exclusionary conduct that violates U.S. antitrust laws. Although U.S. courts are properly reluctant to question the innovative value of a […]

FTC Order Restores Competition in U.S. Market for Equipment Used to Recharge Vehicle Air Conditioning Systems

The Federal Trade Commission will require Robert Bosch GmbH to sell a business that makes equipment used to recharge vehicle air conditioning systems as part of an agreement resolving charges that Bosch’s acquisition of SPX Service Solutions U.S. LLC would have been anticompetitive.  Under the agreement, Bosch also will grant manufacturers licenses to key patents […]

FTC Announces Agenda for Workshop Exploring Practices, Privacy Implications of Comprehensive Collection of Web Data

The Federal Trade Commission announced a preliminary agenda for The Big Picture: Comprehensive Data Collection, a workshop that will explore the practices and privacy implications of comprehensive data collection.  The workshop will be held in Washington, DC, on Dec. 6, 2012, and is free and open to the public. Consumer protection organizations, academics, business and […]